FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The Dax is expected to remain unchanged in December. However, changes are expected in the MDax for medium-sized companies and in the SDax below it. A newcomer to the DAX, Schott Pharma, a manufacturer of syringes and ampoules for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, is also knocking on the door.

The next date for the announcement of the results of the extraordinary review of the Dax index family by the Deutsche Borse subsidiary Stoxx Ltd. is Tuesday, December 5, after the close of US trading. Any changes will come into effect on Monday, December 18.

Although it looked to some investors at the end of October, following the slump in Siemens Energy shares, as if the energy technology group was in serious danger of being relegated from the leading German index, this was not even the case at that time. This is because the leading index is not reviewed at the end of the year according to regular criteria as in March and September, but only on an extraordinary basis. This means that less stringent criteria apply to Dax members for the December review and stricter criteria for potential climbers. In the meantime, the Siemens Energy share price has also recovered noticeably. Zalando is also the weakest stock in terms of freely tradable Borsen value, the key criterion for inclusion in the index.

In contrast, two current SDax companies are pushing into the MDax before Christmas: According to index expert Luca Thorißen from investment bank Stifel Europe, real estate specialist Aroundtown and wafer manufacturer Siltronic are likely to be included in the index of medium-sized stocks. "As things stand today, ProSiebenSat.1 and the recycling specialist Befesa will probably have to be relegated to the SDax," he expects. However, changes are still possible, as the inverter manufacturer SMA Solar could be relegated instead of Befesa. Or both could even be relegated. This would be the case if the SDax-listed share of bottling plant manufacturer Krones continues its recovery and thus climbs one place higher in the free float-based market capitalization criterion.

Apart from this, the chances of inclusion in the SDax are very good for three other companies. Both the newcomer to the stock exchange, Schott Pharma, the investment company Mutares and the pump and valve manufacturer KSB fulfill the so-called "fast entry" criteria. This is the name given to the stricter rules during the extraordinary index reviews. According to Thorißen, their respective Borsen values are currently sufficient for a place in the SDax. According to him, the Xing parent company New Work, the IT security service provider Secunet and the financial services provider W&W would probably have to give way. However, changes are often still possible in the smaller indices, as the market value of the companies is not too far apart, especially in the lower ranks.

Such changes are particularly important for funds that replicate indices in real terms (physically replicating ETFs). They then have to be reallocated accordingly, which can have an impact on share prices./ck/gl/he